The Beginning after the End
by MissingLinq
Summary: 5 years after the war. A strange occurence raises questions. Is one of the lost heroes of the war alive again? IchiRuki
1. Bankai

Bankai.

A word that changed the entire atmosphere of the fight. The shimigami who were close enough to hear the word were confused, the enemy he was fighting was astounded, and the person who said it had disappeared.

Five years since the winter war, and the wounds were finally starting to heal. Aizen had been defeated, Ichimaru and Tousen were dead. Soul Society went into a panic when they detected a hollow with a reiatsu on level with the Arrancar from the war. Three captains were dispatched with their vice-captains, in order to bring the matter to a close promptly. One vice-captain was severely injured, and the other two were trying to pull him and the two unconscious captains away from the fight. The remaining captain stood battle ready for many minutes after the enemy had disappeared, praying that his companions were safe and had been too far away to hear what he did.

Thirteenth Division Captain Ukitake Jyuushiro sealed and sheathed his zanpakuto. He turned to see two vice-captains with wide eyes staring at him. He sighed softly and addressed the question he saw burning in their eyes in the only manner he knew how.

"I don't think it's possible. If he had survived the battle with Aizen, he would have at least gone back to see his family by now."

Vice-captain Kuchiki Rukia and Vice-captain Abarai Renji had seen many many things in their long lives, one of the most painful was watching their friend and companion Kurosaki Ichigo disappear in the explosion that killed Aizen. Search parties went through the rubble for almost two years looking for bodies or evidence of bodies, and the only thing ever found was a tattered almost destroyed hilt of a guardless sword, with white cloth wrapping on it.

The two of them gathered up the unconscious 6th division captain, 2nd division captain and the wounded 2nd division vice-captain, as Captain Ukitake opened the gate to Soul Society so they could all be treated. They shared a look that spoke only one thing. He was alive and they were going to rescue him, the same way he'd rescued all of them. They would get Kurosaki Ichigo back.

In Rukia's mind though, another thought passed… 'this time, I'll tell him what he means, how I really feel…'


	2. Blood and Sand

Blood and sand. His whole world had been blood and sand for five years. The scintillating taste of fresh blood on his tongue had been his only salvation of sanity in this endless desert. His tail whipped behind him as his mind reeled in confusion over the alien thoughts and feelings that swept through him when he saw those people and the word he said to the old man. Bankai.

He sniffed the air as he sensed a change in the world he'd been hunting in. Suddenly his senses were alert and he began gathering his power for the attack that would surely come. He sat poised for what seemed an eternity, but nothing came. The sense of danger had not passed, but he decided not waste time waiting on something that may not happen. As he looked down at his claws he noticed a small crack on his wrists, and frowned thoughtfully. What could have injured him? The most powerful hollow in Hueco Mundo feared nothing. Thoughts… useless things… dangerous things. They might lead "him" to wake up again. That hadn't happened in almost 4 years. He'd been the king for 4 years and loved every second of it… but he couldn't really remember anything before that. All he knew was that if "he" woke up again, that annoying voice in his head that cried and screamed, he would take control, and he wouldn't be king of Hueco Mundo or even his own body.

The creature walked aimlessly around Hueco Mundo allowing these dangerous thoughts to pass through his mind, and never once silencing them, or noticing the damage he was causing to himself with them. A trail of white hollow armor flakes were left behind him as he walked and thought. The deterioration was slow and almost unnoticeable if he wasn't looking for it, and he was too busy "thinking" to notice anything.

Rukia and Renji sat in the lotus garden of the Kuchiki manor, each of them trying to come up with any plan at all that could get them into Hueco Mundo to find Ichigo, when the answer fell into their laps. Literally. A small child, with teal hair landed in Rukia's lap after she fell out of a tree right above her.

"Nel?!? What are you doing here?" Rukia asked with obvious confusion showing in her violet eyes. Nel looked up at Rukia with tears starting to fall out of her eyes.

"Itsygo!!! He's falling apart… his body is falling apart and Nel can't do anything to stop it. Nel needed help so she came here to find his friends and get them to fix Itsygo." She sobbed into Rukia's chest.

"Oi, take us to the strawberry then. We'll fix him up." The redhead said in his normal annoyed tone, as if he hadn't been trying to figure out how to do just that.

Nel sniffed and wiped her tears off with her sleeve and nodded. "Nel will take Ruki and Pinapple-chan to where Itsygo is." She squirmed out of Rukia's lap and opened a garganta to Hueco Mundo, and the three of them set off in search of Ichigo. Unseen by them, the watcher who was sent to make sure they stayed safe slipped into the garganta before it closed off Sereitei from that barren wasteland.


	3. Revelation

Ichigo… that was his name. It wasn't the only name he remembered, but he couldn't put faces to any of the other ones except his. And the face he remembered didn't have a mask on it. He stared into the mirrored surface of the water at his masked face and wondered if his other face was hidden under it. Since he'd "woken up" he hadn't really remembered much, but he knew that where he was, wasn't where he wanted to be. He also knew something important was missing. Something that had to do with that word he said before. Bankai.

"_Where is your resolve Ichigo? How can I trust you again after you betrayed us to that thing? He tried to destroy us both, and you let him. If this is your measure of resolve to protect, then you will have no help from me." _The voice reverberated in his mind and he didn't know how, but he knew it was someone other than the other him, and it hurt to hear that.

The only parts of his Hollow armor left were his claws and his head. He wore a black overcoat, tattered around the edges, with red inner lining and black loose fitting pants. The place he was sitting at was called "The Shrine of the Fallen" and even though he didn't know it, he felt a kinship to the monument there. A black katana was broken and lying across the carved stone platform, which had names etched into it for each of the fallen from the Winter War. Ichigo thought it was peaceful here when he came to sit next to the water, so had made it part of his routine over the last few days to rest here when he grew restless and tired. He wondered if maybe he knew any of these people and that's why he felt so at ease here, where other hollows never dared to tread.

"I've been watching you for the last few days hollow, and the only reason you're still alive is because you're different from the others. While they kill and eat each other to get more powerful and add to their gruesome forms, you've been losing more of your form every day. Now, I come to see you wearing something that looks like a cross between my uniform and some pompous noble's overcoat that's seen one too many winters. Who or what are you?" The voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once, and had a distinct feminine quality to it. Something about it held an arrogant, powerful tone that he felt at ease with.

Who was he? He laughed at that thought. He could crush this thing that spoke to him, but didn't even know who he was. There is such irony there… powerful with no memory of why or how. Who was he indeed. Perhaps he should answer this creature, if nothing else, it would amuse him and keep him from thinking too much more about what he didn't remember. "I am Ichigo, and you can obviously see what I am. What about yourself? Who and what are _you_?" he spoke with the comfortable confidence that he didn't remember working to attain.

A soft rustle of fabric and the smell of jasmine wafted past him and made something inside of him ache and he didn't know why, but as he turned toward the source of the rustling, he met intense amber eyes. His first instinct was to attack, however he felt the overpowering calm that those eyes betrayed, and stayed his hand. "I'm Kiyori. Mitsugi Kiyori, and you, though you appear to be a hollow, you are obviously something different from the rest of the mindless creatures here. Your armor has been decaying over the last few days, and you seem to be more and more human as the hours pass. Do you remember what or who you are?" Ichigo froze, stiff as a board at the inflection and implied meaning of her last question.

What do you know? Who are you really? Who… am I? His inner voice called out to him again. "_Ichigo, do you really remember nothing? What will bring your mind back to us? How will we stop the rain if you can't remember why it's raining? We need more than just the two of us to fix this. Ask her. Demand from her. Plead with her. Do anything, but please, remember Ichigo. We are not strong without you."_ As his inner voice finished speaking another voice took its place. Something different, something like his own voice, warbled. "_Oi, King. Its about time you talked to the old man. I was wrong to take over and have my way for so long. It made us weak, but it hurt you more than that. You don't remember anything anymore. I want to be strong again, but you have to ask her for help. She knows something, and you could benefit from what it is I think. Just remember this, we don't remember anything you don't remember._"

"I know who and what I am now. The past may not have even happened as far as I can tell. I am who I am. Whatever you think you know about me doesn't apply, because I am different." He gambled with his next statement. "Go back and tell them that I know nothing. Tell them I am a mindless beast now, and tell them to…" _Rukia…_ He grabbed his head and collapsed as a memory came to him unbidden.

~~~~~ Outside of the Kurosaki Clinic ~~~~~

"Ichigo… I have to go back. They want me to be a vice-captain."

"So, you're leaving then?"

"Yes. I leave in an hour. I just wanted to come and tell you that I probably won't be back for a while."

"Well, with the war preparations, I understand why you'd need to leave. Take care Rukia." The woman, whose face was blurred and voice was unclear, left. He stood under the streetlamp for many minutes, completely alone.

"I love you…"

A/N- This didn't really turn out the way I'd hoped so far, and the intro of Kiyori seemed more… epic in my mind. But hey... thats why its fanfiction, and I don't get paid to do it. ;) Much love for my reviews so far, and thank you for all of the wonderful comments. I'll try to finish off the next two chapters this weekend.


	4. Ally?

Renji and Rukia had been following Nel for almost an entire day through the wastelands of Hueco Mundo when they stumbled across the first sign of Ichigo's deterioration. The tail of his hollow form, half covered in sand. Upon seeing this, Nel began to cry uncontrollably. Her reiatsu began to climb rapidly, leaving Rukia and Renji gasping for breath. As suddenly as it started it ended, and standing in front of them was Neliel. "We need to hurry. If his deterioration is happening this fast, it might be too late. If someone familiar doesn't get to him to help him remember who he was, he will fade away once he no longer has the protection of his Hollow form. I was too distraught in my child form to adequately explain the depth of danger that Ichigo is in. I feel his reiatsu pulsing in the Shrine of the Fallen. Follow quickly." She sonidos off toward the shrine, not waiting for her companions to follow her. Rukia and Renji share a look of absolute shock that changes to determination as they shunpo off after her. Rukia, Renji, and Neliel arrive at the shrine in time to see Ichigo collapse onto the ground clutching his head. They turn to look at the shinigami standing over him, all wondering who she is and why she's here.

"Before you ask, I am Mitsugi Kiyori, and I am one of the few that remain from Zero Division. I was sent to find and help restore the memory of this man. It appears as if I might have been too late though. His hollow form is much more degraded than we had originally anticipated. It appears as if the final breakdown of his form is happening as we speak. We can only watch and pray to kami-sama that he comes through this without fading away."

Ichigo opened his eyes to the soft downpour of rain falling all around him, and the crumbled remains of what appeared to be a city all around him. "Ichigo… I'm glad you have come. Your final choice is here, and its answer will affect this entire world. Sit with me for a moment while I explain what is happening inside and outside of you." He turns his head to the side and sees an older man with long black hair and sunglasses looking at him from a comfortable chair with another chair next to it. He stands slowly and walks to the chairs, and sits. All of this seems familiar to him especially the old man sitting in the chair.

"I'm listening old man. Tell me what's going on."

"Ichigo… After your hollow side took over and began his rampage across Hueco Mundo, and you'd given up trying to break out, he formed protective armor over your whole body, to keep it from getting injured. This armor has started breaking apart since you wrested control back from him. Once all of this armor has broken off, you will either fade away, or you will retain your shinigami form and become more like the man you once were. I don't know if you will ever truly remember everything, but I can give you back part of your memories. I protected them from fading when he took over and forgot about me." The old man shifted in his chair, and leaned slightly forward, toward Ichigo, watching his reaction to the things he said. Ichigo, for the most part accepted everything in stride, only seeming to look confused when the old man talked about being forgotten. "When you took control back and forced your hollow into submission again, I regained enough of my former power to help hold him in and allow you to take full control. For now, he will just be a whisper of a voice in your mind, but as you grow stronger, so will he. You are a part of each other. The reason that your inner world is unstable is because you took over without me at my full power. You couldn't have known the consequences, but even so, I was unable to keep your inner world from crumbling and turning into this barren wasteland. Ichigo, if you decide to become who you were, after I give you your memories back… you may not survive the process of getting your memory back. Too much time without your memory and without me has drained you considerably. Just…" the old man paused and looked away for a moment. "She's here. You must choose now. Fade or become who you were." The old man jumps from his chair and kicks Ichigo in the chest, over and over. Pounding him senselessly into the ground, as the chair he was in shattered around him from the force of the first kick. "You must remember now. "

~~Flashback~~

"Oi, Renji, have you seen Rukia? I've been looking for her for hours."

"Listen Ichigo, whatever you said to her pissed her off, worse than I've seen her pissed off since you 'accidently' threw away her chappy movie collection. So forgive me if I value my life and don't get on her bad side."

"I didn't say anything to her. Inoue confessed to me… and Rukia heard it from around a corner. She started running before I could stop her."

"What did you say to Inoue?"

"I told her that I value her friendship, but I can't see her as more than a friend."

"Sorry Strawberry. I'm not supposed to tell you that she's hiding in the garden of her brother's mansion. Just don't do anything stupid."

~~End Flashback~~

Renji… Rukia… Inoue… he knew these people. Memories danced just beyond his reach, but he knew more than he had before. He knew when he stood up after this, it wouldn't be in his inner world. His eyes opened, slowly, and he felt the last vestiges of his mask and claws shattering off of him. He took a deep breath and steadied himself as he started to stand, only to feel the hands of three people catch him when he pitched forward unsteadily. He looked at the short shinigami standing there with those intense violet eyes and breathed a single word before blacking out completely. "Rukia…"

A/N- sorry for taking so long to update. Work has been conflicting with the important parts of my life… like updating my fanfiction. Since I know all of you are waiting with baited breath for the next installment. ^_^ Enjoy, I'm mostly done with the next chapter too.

-Linq


	5. Inner Turmoil

Rukia paced. Renji snored. Neliel hummed. Kiyori watched. In the middle of them, Ichigo writhed and tossed in his sleep moaning names and fighting unseen creatures. Occasionally he would stop thrashing long enough to smile lightly and mumble again. They all waited for him to wake… or to see him fade into nothingness. The undetected shadow from Soul Society was the only one who didn't understand what was happening to Ichigo, and was the most worried about him.

Ichigo woke to the sound of water. Light shined in his eyes and his head was throbbing.

"It's about time you wake up. I thought I was going to eat breakfast without you." Ichigo rubbed his eyes and tried to process what was going on around him. A small stream bubbled next to him, and an auburn haired woman sat on a blanket smiling at him. His mind could barely process who it was as he stared at her.

"M- Mother???" his face registered total shock at her sitting on a blanket next to him.

"How are you alive? Where are we?" he crawled across the blanket to her, confusion and desperation clear in his voice and eyes.

"I'm not." Her smile didn't fade or falter for an instant as she reached over and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm a memory of a memory. You have many things to come to terms with and you're subconscious used me as the friendliest image to help you through them."

"I don't understand. I was in Hueco Mundo. I passed out, and woke up here. Where is this?" Ichigo began to look less distressed and more annoyed by the second.

"This is another section of your inner world. I'm just another part of your soul, surfacing to help you deal with issues that you wouldn't otherwise deal with. You have many people who have tied strings to your heart. And you have let your heart be pulled in many different directions. Be strong. Protect a mountain of people. That's why you were named 'He who protects', Ichigo. When you are in turmoil, and need someone to listen to you, and help you with problems, come here, to this part of your inner world, and I will help you for as long as you need me." She smiled and the world started to shimmer and fade to a grey nothingness. "I'll always be here for you Ichigo… my son…"

Ichigo tried to cry out to her, to say all the things he wanted to say to her before she died, but instead a strangled cry of pain ripped from his mouth as memories began pouring into him. Every moment of lost time, every detail of every day of his life as a human, as a shinigami, as a vaizard, and even as a hollow. His world was going to be very different now, and he knew that 5 years had changed everything for him in the human world, and even Soul Society was going to be different.

A/N – sorry that its taken so long for an update, but I've kinda been busy. Military life and all. That's coming to an end in the next month or so, but I've finally found myself in a place to be able to write and update regularly. I expect I'll finish this story and work on another one that I shelved before I left. Soooooooo… regular updates inc…


	6. Home

A scream escaped his lips as his eyes shot open. Everyone at the shrine was at his side in an instant, waiting, watching, praying. Slowly his form dissipated into spirit particles and was simply gone. Rukia's eyes grew large and she screamed in rage and anguish. Her heart seemed to die in that moment.

"Jesus midget, could you keep it down? You're going to bring half of Hueco Mundo running to find an easy meal." 5 heads whipped around to see Kurosaki Ichigo standing with his back to the monument, staring out over the expanse of the sand. Rukia stood up and walked to him slowly one hand stretched toward him, tears still running down her face. When her hand made contact with him, he screamed and grabbed his leg. "What the fuck Rukia? I almost die and you kick me? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Baka! I thought you were dead for 5 fucking years! Then you pull this disintegrating bullshit!" she started hitting him in the chest as she was yelling at him. She broke down clutching his shikashuho, crying. "I didn't even get to say…" she trailed off and let the tears roll out of her eyes, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

"Idiot… you don't have to say anything." He put his hands on her lower back and the back of her head and held her while she cried and everyone else stared open mouthed at the unprecedented amount of emotions being displayed by the two of them. "We should go home. I'm sure my family misses me and I'll be some of the shinigami in Soul Society would like to know where I've been for 5 years." He smiled down at her as she pulled back from him, a small smile on her face.

"Yuzu cried for almost 3 months when you didn't come home, and Karin pretended like you we never there to begin with. Your father actually seemed the most well adjusted to it. He smiled and said 'He died protecting a mountain of people. Masaki would be proud of him.'" Nel spoke softly from a few feet away. "I lived there with your family. Your father wouldn't let me leave once he found out you saved me. They've missed you terribly for these last 5 years, and I'm sure they'll be ecstatic to see you again. I'll open a garganta to your house."

"Actually Nel, there's no need." He tapped the air with his finger and a medium sized garganta opened. Once again 5 sets of eyes regarded him with shock and wonder. "What? I've been living in Hueco Mundo for 5 years. You act like I wouldn't learn anything that whole time." He gave his best cocky grin and walked through the garganta, without even pausing to see if they were going to follow him. His 3 friends, division zero member, and the watcher from the shadows all entered the garganta, though no one saw or sensed the final person go through the portal.

Kurosaki Isshin felt Renji, Rukia, Nel, and another reiatsu just outside his door right before he heard the knock. He opened the door and dropped the glass of tea he'd been drinking, staring at the last person he ever expected to see. "Tadaima… Dad."


	7. A Hard Truth

"Ichi…go…" his father stared at him for a moment before frowning as Ichigo fell down screaming. "YOU'VE GROWN WEAK MY SON! YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO BLOCK THAT PUNCH! YOU HAVE MUCH TO LEARN" Isshin leapt into the air aiming his foot at his son, only to be caught in mid air by a VERY pissed off Karin.

"I'm embarrassed to be related to you goat-chin. You're attacking guests who aren't even insi…" her words die on her lips as she sees her brother laying there rolling around holding his jaw screaming at his father. "Ichi-nii…" She started crying and jumped on him, holding him around the waist.'

He stopped screaming when he felt two slender arms wrap around him. He put his hand on her head and smirked. "I'm sorry Karin. I didn't mean to leave you alone. I know it was hard on you without me here." Her crying had turned into incoherent sobs, with them laying there in a little pile on the steps, the ladies stepped around them to enter the house, intending to give them a moment to themselves, until Yuzu walked around the corner just in time to see someone standing holding Karin, and her crying.

"Karin-chan, don't get too excited about your boyfriend coming over, it's not like daddy is going to embarrass you or anything. At least no worse than he normally does." Just as she finished her sentence, Karin turned to look at her, and she got a good look at the face of the man holding her. "Ichi-nii…" she collapsed onto the floor holding the wall and started crying. "I thought you were dead… why didn't you come home if you weren't dead…" Ichigo sighed and sat Karin down only to pick up Yuzu and hug her too.

"I'm sorry Yuzu. I left you both alone while I was gone, and I'm very sorry that you had to go through that. I promise that I'll never leave you like that again." Rukia, Kiyori, and Neliel were staring at the family reunion with mixed reactions. Rukia was smiling at the family fun, Neliel looked upset that they seemed to have forgotten her, and Kiyori just stared, unable to process for a moment that THE Kurosaki Isshin could be that ridiculous around his family and be so serious as a soul reaper.

Renji was about to say something when a hand snaked out of the shadows, clamped over his mouth and pulled him away. "Stay out of this one freeloader-san. It's a family moment, and before you bitch about the Zero Division not being family, in a way she is, so let's go back to the shop, and wait for them to call us." Yoruichi spoke softly into his ear as she was shunpoing across Karakura town. Renji just sighed and let it all happen, knowing that they'd be beating down the door to Urahara's soon enough to open a Senkaimon to travel to Soul Society with.

Back inside, Ichigo wasn't faring as well as he'd hoped, since he was being assailed by crying girls, a recovered father who seemed to be out for his blood, and Neliel who was trying to smother him with her enormous… endowments. Kiyori was the only person not taking part in the scene and was getting rather annoyed at everyone pretending she didn't exist. She cleared her throat once, with no effect, so she did it again louder, only to hear, "Kiyori –fukutaicho, if you could give my son a few more minutes with his sisters, I'd appreciate it a lot. 5 years without their brother… a few more minutes before you tell him why you're here isn't going to change much, is it?" She blinked at Isshin who had somehow disengaged himself from the family and was standing behind her looking as serious as she'd ever seen him.

"Hai, Isshin-Tai-" he put a finger over her lips to stop her and shook his head sadly.

"I don't deserve that anymore, and you know it. I let Masaki die, and for that, I'm not fit to take that mantle and title back. When you tell Ichigo all the things you need to tell him, give him enough time to digest it all before you give him the offer they sent you to give him. He's still fragile after losing his mother when he was 9. Being 20 doesn't change that for him." 'But that girl sitting across from him might.' Isshin thought to himself as he watched as the family scene was winding down to a more livable level.

"Ichigo, I believe this young woman has something to talk to you about. I'll take Karin and Yuzu out for Ice cream while you talk." With that he gathered up the girls and walked out of the house. After the door shut Ichigo heard a faint "I want grandchildren soon!" He sighed and shook his head as his father.

"Well, I suppose I should introduce myself first. I'm Mitsugi Kiyori. Fukutaicho of Zero Division. I was sent here to ascertain the whereabouts and status of Kurosaki Ichigo. The Spirit King wishes Ichigo to live a long healthy fruitful life, but after the Winter War against Aizen, he fell off the radar until very recently. I was selected for this mission due to my experience in the living world. I've been stationed here for nearly 21 years. During that time, I've kept tabs on Kurosaki-san, and his family, sending regular reports to the Spirit King's realm, and receiving instructions on how to proceed during especially difficult times." She spoke quickly and crisply, as if she was trying to gain momentum to say something more important.

"I don't get it though. The Spirit King wants you to keep tabs on me? What makes me so important that the fukutaicho of Zero Division needs to watch me for 20 years? If you can't tell me that then I don't want to hear anything else you have to say." Ichigo looked very serious for once, and something about his demeanor was different than the normal Ichigo of 5 years ago.

"The alias I used while here on Earth was Ochi Misato." She smirked a little. "Didn't you find it a little odd that you were never punished for missing so much class? A normal teacher would have failed you for half the absences and "bathroom breaks" that you got away with. I used my status as a teacher to keep a very well maintained set of notes on you, your development of power, and your personality, all of which interested the Spirit King very much. He was interested in you because you are the only male son of Kurosaki Masaki, his daughter. You are the surviving heir to the throne."

Ichigo sat and let the news sink in, that his mother was the daughter of the Spirit King, and that he was the heir to the throne if the old king died. While he was pondering the things that a 20 year old ponders when they're told this, Kiyori stands up, bows and says "I'll take my leave now. If you need to ask any questions, I'll be at the school. You can drop by anytime." With that, she walks out of the room and they hear the door shut. He looks up at Rukia and then over to Neliel, and sighs deeply.

"How am I supposed to react to being told I'm the grandchild of the Spirit King? I barely know anything about soul society, even after all this time. I'm just glad that Gramps isn't dead I suppose. Otherwise I'd be stuck as… the…" he sighed again and dropped his head into his hands. "There isn't anyway to pretend I didn't hear that is there… no matter how I look at it, I'm a noble in soul society now. I guess Yuzu will like this, since she'll be a princess now. Neliel, could you give me a minute… I need to talk to Rukia alone for a minute." As Neliel left, Rukia turned to Ichigo and gave him a questioning look. He smiled at her and for the first time said what he's wanted to say since he saved her at her execution. "Rukia I.."

A/N- So its been a while since my last update, and I'd like to say I have a good excuse. All I really have to say about it is that I'm back in action, and I'll be updating regularly, and also I'm going to be starting a new time travel fic where post war Ichigo returns to his body pre war. I'd like your opinions though about when to put him back into his body. I have 4 major times that stick out in my mind. Number 1 is before Rukia shows up, number 2 is during the Menos Grande incident, number 3 is during rukia's capture and number 4 is during his urahara training before going to soul society. The reason I separated the last two times is the difference between Rukia being captured or not, and whether or not Ichigo spreads destruction across soul society. So anyway, reviews= love, and leave me a note on which time you think is the best one for that. Oh, one last thing… cliff hangers are a bitch aren't they? ^_^

-Linq


End file.
